ARLINGTON, Texas — Jim Thome may have been the biggest kid in the Orioles celebration clubhouse. He was dousing champagne, being everywhere at once.

“I can’t say enough about what he has meant to us,” center fielder Adam Jones said after Baltimore’s 5-1 AL wild-card victory over the Rangers last night. “He has been through this so many times. This team has veterans but we’re young. Jim Thome has shown us and taught us so many things.”

Like how to celebrate, and it never gets old.

“What makes it so satisfying is to celebrate like this because a lot of these guys haven’t been through this and to watch them for the first time, I remember back in the 90’s, I was doing this with Cleveland,” said Thome, the 600-home run club member who has played in 15 different playoff series in now 10 postseasons.

Thome was just as quick to give the compliments back to the kids.

“It goes both ways. When I came over here, they helped make everything comfortable,” Thome said. “What impressed me most was how close knit everybody was, and then when you looked at the talent on the field, everything kind of flowed.

“As everything got going, I don’t think there’s a specific date — but you believe it. I think everybody in baseball should believe [we] have a very good club,” said Thome who will again serve as mentor for the Orioles in the ALDS against the Yankees now that Baltimore dispatched Heimlich maneuvering Texas. “One thing that impressed me was how our bullpen rose to the occasion. We had guys from Triple-A come up and do the job. When we had guys go down others have stepped up.”

And now the next obstacle is the biggest — the Yankees.

“The Yankees at this time of year, you always have to be aware that the Yankees are out there. They’ve got guys who have been through the wars, through the grind. One thing about the Yankees, they don’t panic. But on the other hand we like our chances,” Thome said. “We wouldn’t be in this position if we didn’t. We have a lot of respect for them they have great players, but in the end we like our chances.

“We want to show everybody Baltimore has had a great year and we want to continue it.”